


Safe

by kmandofan90



Category: The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: Gen, a little sad because Grogu remembers his childhood but ends happily
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-02
Updated: 2021-01-02
Packaged: 2021-03-10 18:15:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,108
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28491510
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kmandofan90/pseuds/kmandofan90
Summary: Grogu considers his relationship with Din and his little sleepy pod.
Relationships: Din Djarin & Grogu | Baby Yoda
Comments: 25
Kudos: 190





	Safe

**Author's Note:**

> **Pairing:** None  
>  **Word Count:** ~1100  
>  **Rating:** PG-13  
>  **Warnings:** Mentions of child abuse (what Baby Yoda had to deal with before Din saved  
> him)  
>  **Author’s Notes:** Pure, self-indulgent fluff. ❤️❤️❤️
> 
> Originally posted on my account over on Tumblr: anxiety-riddled-mando.tumblr.com  
> I'm in the middle of migrating my many, many other writings over here to AO3. :D

He has a complicated relationship with his little sleepy pod. For the first fifty years of his life, it was his only source of constancy – no matter how many “caretakers” came and went, the pod stayed the same. Cold, metal, and barren. Too many hard places and nowhere he could rest his head comfortably.

The sleepy pod was the only place where he could feel safe away from the Bad People who liked to hurt him. They would poke him and pinch his ears until he would lash out with the electric feeling that made him feel strong. As soon as he did, the Bad People would make lots of mouth-noises, put scary machines in his face, and put him right back into his pod. He was always so, so _alone_. No one ever made mouth-noises _to him_ , no matter how much he cried.

Even though his pod was dark and scary, it was _safe_. It was the only place he could curl up and cry without having to hear loud, angry mouth-noises. He could cover his ears and close his eyes and _sleep_ , sleep so he could escape from the Bad People and sharp things and the uncomfortable crackle of lightning in his chest.

The droids gave him food from a tube and water from a bottle. Sometimes, he would put all three fingers on the arm feeding him just so he could have a little bit of contact with another being that wasn’t _painpainpain._ Sometimes, he could just barely pretend that the droids _cared_ about him, even if their limbs are cold metal.

Well, they didn’t _all_ hurt him. There was one caretaker he can still remember vividly. She was tall, with dark hair, dark eyes, and soft hands. Soft, warm hands that treated him gently. She used warm water to clean him, and sometimes, when she could, she would give him food on a spoon. She smelled nice and he tried to be so very, very good for her so she didn’t have to go away. He liked her, she rubbed his back when he cried and sometimes held him against her shoulder when his ears _hurt_.

One day, after his bath, she dressed him in his clean clothes, and wrapped him in a fresh towel. He didn’t know why she did it. _But when she left, she left him wrapped up in the towel_. It was the last time he saw her, and they took his towel away, but he always looked for her. He never forgot her warm hands or her gentle smile. He never forgot the sweet mouth-noises she made in response to his own mouth-noises.

When Shiny Face found him, he was so scared at first. But then he offered a big finger to him. He reached out to see what he wanted, to see if his hand was as soft as the Soft One. The electric feeling inside him told him that Shiny Face was _safesafesafe_. And even when Shiny Face took him back to the Bad People, he knew he would be safe again. He was sleepy when Shiny Face came back for him, wearing a new shiny suit – but it was okay because he was _safe_. They had lots of adventures together, and now, he knows Shiny Face is _buir_. He can’t say _buir_ very well, so he says Buwi.

The pod is still made of metal, but it isn’t cold and scary anymore. Buwi put a comfortable blanket on the bottom, so thick and warm he still sometimes runs his fingers along the fabric in disbelief because he’s never had anything like it before. Sometimes, Buwi dresses him in new clothes, and washes his blankets, and his bed, but he always gives them back. It took him a long time to trust that Buwi would give him his soft, warm things back. He knows that Buwi will always come back to him, no matter how long he stays away.

Buwi’s voice sounds funny through his helmet. Sometimes, when he gets tired of the metallic tone, he stands in Buwi’s lap and tries to put his hands up the front of his helmet. Buwi knows that he wants to see his face. When they’re alone, he takes his helmet off and scoops him up over his _kar’ta beskar_. He runs his fingers along Buwi’s face, just to make sure he knows what he looks like. Then he tucks his head under Buwi’s chin and goes to sleep. Buwi’s cuirass, even though it is made of metal, is warm, and safe, and _loving_. He knows he is safe here.

Sometimes, he wakes back up in his pod, but that’s okay. He knows he’s safe when the lid is open. He knows he’s safe when the lid is closed. He knows he only has to wait and Buwi will open it for him. He knows that Buwi only closes the lid when it’s Not Safe, when there are Bad People nearby.

It’s okay when the lid is closed because he has lots of blankets and stuffed toys. His wonderful Golden _Ba’vodu_ – the one with a voice like fire and music and steel – installed a little light for him so he doesn’t have to wait in the dark. If he pushes the button, it turns blue, and he can pretend he’s flying with Buwi in the Big Shiny Noisy.

He doesn’t have to wait for the droids to feed him twice a day anymore. Even though the food sometimes comes out of a box, it is always warm, and he always gets to eat as much as he wants, whenever he wants. He has never been hungry with Buwi. He doesn’t have to hide crumbs to satiate that gnawing pit in his belly between feedings. Buwi even put a little box in his sleeping pod where he can hide things. That’s where he hides all the cookies, crackers, and sweets his Big Blue _Ba’vodu_ sneaks in behind Buwi’s back. (And Big Blue _Ba’vodu_ has the best snacks – it’s probably why he’s so big and tall.)

He even knows how to push the button on the outside so he can _close it_ himself. Sometimes, he gets scared. So, when Buwi taught him how to close the lid, he knows he can _protect himself_ , and he doesn’t have to hurt people with that warm lightning in his chest. He curls up in his soft, warm blankets, hold his worn, patched little Mudhorn stuffie, and closes his eyes. Buwi will open the lid and he knows he will be safe.

He will always be safe.

All he has to do is wait for Buwi.


End file.
